Month: January 2016

How the Fight Against the Islamic State Is Being Covered

~ middleeastweekblog

Charlie Winter comes back on the show to discuss how the Islamic State, and the campaign against them, is being covered. Some of the topics we discussed include:

  • How the fight against the Islamic State is covered in the media and political discourse
  • Differences in how the Islamic State is covered and discussed in the US vs the UK
  • The focus on military solutions at the expense of political and diplomatic ones
  • How governments can improve the non-military aspects of the fight against the Islamic State
  • Challenges posed by trying to quantify success in counter-narrative campaigns
  • Projects Charlie is working on at GSU

Links

Thanks to Mikhail Yurchak, Adam Smith Intl., Andrew, Alex, David de Bruijn, and Ryan Gell for supporting the show. If you’d like to help support the podcast please check out the show’s Patreon page.

Libya’s Fragile Unity Agreement

~ middleeastweekblog

Mary Fitzgerald comes back on the show to discuss the latest attempts to bring an end to the conflict in Libya. Some of the topics we covered include:

  • Background on the unity agreement that was signed in December
  • Challenges the new unity government is already facing
  • The new UN envoy’s determination to make the unity agreement work
  • Recent attacks on Libya’s oil infrastructure
  • Islamic State’s presence in Libya and efforts to combat them
  • Libya’s massive economic challenges

Links

Thanks to Mikhail Yurchak, Ryan Gell, MJ, and Adam Smith Intl. for supporting the show. If you’d like to support the podcast you can check out the show’s Patreon page.

Iran-Saudi Arabia Conflict and Its Regional Effects

~ middleeastweekblog

Phillip Smyth comes on the show to discuss many issues surrounding the current Iran-Saudi Arabia tensions. We covered a variety of topics, particularly on the Iranian and Shia side of the conflict, such as:

  • The regional reactions and effects of the current crisis
  • Detailed background on Nimr al-Nimr
  • Iran’s desire to represent all Shia
  • The conflict’s effect on minority Shia populations in the region

Links:

Thanks to Mikhail Yurchak, Wendy Plotkin, and Adam Smith Intl. for supporting the podcast. You can support the show by checking out the podcast’s Patreon page.